The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-04
AGE OF a SUPREME JUDGE.
The Number of Years Attained to by fhS
Men Who Have Been Snpreme Judge.

The Number OF Years Attained to by fhs
Men Who Have Been Supreme Judge.
Frank G. Carpenter, in New York World
The possible appointment of Secretary Lamar
jected TO account of bis age He was born
Sept IL, 1926, and he is now two months past
sixty-,wo. In the whole history of the Supreme
Court. only two justices have been appointed
who were as old as this st the time OF their APP
pointment. and the average age has been not
much over fifty. Judge William Strong. of
1870, was sixty-two years old,
but be retired in 1880 and he
is now living . quiet life in washiu etou His
mind is as clear as bell, and in his eiehty-frst
year he has apparently mnch vitality IS when
he went on the bench. Judge Blatchford was
sixty-two years old when Arthur appointed him,
but of the other justices, Waite TOOK his place
the bench at ffty-eieht Harlan I forty-four,
Stanley Matthews at 6fty-seven and Judge Gray
Lamar expects to succeed, hfry-six when he
appointed. and Justice Bradley. though hs
is seveniy-four years old now, works just IS hare
and looks just as young as when he was sp-
pointed in 1870. st the age Of fifty -seven. Brad
ley is the oldest the bench. He isl
dEied-up anatomy of skin. bone and brain. anG
be will continue to work until he drops TO pieceS
all at once. like the old deacon's chaise.
The youngest man who has ever had a seat On
tho Supreme Bench was Judge Story. OF Masss-
chusetts. who was only tnirty-two years old st
the time of his appointment, and who remained
on the bench for thirty four years. Story WAS
one Of the most remarkable lawyers in our bis
tory. He had made large fortune out of his
law practice when be was made Supreme Judge
by Madison. ard he had big income from the
sale of his legal writings. He wrote twenty
seven different volumes and published thirty
four volumes of decisions, and his receipts from
the sale of these amounted To as high as SO, GOO
year He was a hard worker all his life and
when he was = young man he wrote poetry His
law books have a high standing in England He
a member of Congress before he took his
seat the bench
9John jay WAS sixty years old when he became
our first Chief-justice. but he retired at sixty
six. Chief-iustice Marshall took his seat on thu
bench at forty six. and remained there thirty
four years Chief Justice fancy was fifty nine
whom Jackson made him the head OF the SUI
preme Court, and he did not leave the bench
until death earned him from il, twsnty-eieht
years later. assthe age of eighty-seven. Salmon
P, Chase became Chief justice when he WAS If
ty-sIx years old, but the presidential bee STING
him. and he died nine years after it had begun
to buzz in the bushy gray locks over his ears
Or all the forty-three justices who have far
received Supreme Court appointmen Is only four
have been under forty years of age. These are
Judge Story, at thirty two; Judge William
johnson, of South Carolina. appointed by Jeffer-
Washington at thirty-nine, and George Wash
ington's nephew. Bushrod Washin gton. who Was
appointed By John Adams when he was only
thirty-six years old. Bushrod Washington re.
manned on the bench thirty-one years, and tbs
ease of the Supreme Bench tends to prolong life.i
John JosI Casron, of Tennessee, appointed iu
Mclean. of OhIo. who was appointed
at forty -four. served thirty-two years, and
wayne, OF georgia, appointed w JACKSON. was &
thirty-two years on the bench. Judge Nelson, I
of New York. served twenty-seven years. though
he was raised 70 the bench at fftythree. and
Judge Grier, of Pennsylvania, and Nathan Cliff
ford, of Maine, each sss swenty-seven years on
the bench, kough Grier retired when he
reached seventy years OF age. David Davis was
on the bench fifteen years and resigned to take
place in the United States Senate, and Noah
H. Swayne. of Ohio. served twenty years and
left tie bench at the age of seventy.
just about one-third of the supreme judges
have been between forty and fifty years OF ace
at the time they were appointed. and fourteen
ont of the forty-three have ranged from forty<
two to forty-nine The court st first consisted
of q chief justice and the associate justices, and
Thomas Todd. of Kentucky, the man who waa
added during Jefferson's administration. making
the number of associate justices six. was forty
two, bnt both Cation and Mckinley, the two
Judges who were appointed by Jackson when
the court was increased to its present SIZE,
were ffty-one. and moro than half of thel
appointees. or twenty three, have been between !
fifty and sixty years of age. while onlyf
three have been over sixty at the time of theirs
appointment. Senator Daniels ancestor, from /,
Virginia, who served niurtsen years on the |
bench between 1910 and 1860 ffsy-six years
old when he appointed Levi Woodbury.
was ffty-six, and Benjamin &. Curtis was
only forty-two. Still. many of these JUS
tiees did Good work for years after they
had re- the present age of Secretary
Lamar. an. Matte. Miller, Bradley ana Field
show mental decline. though they ell
over seventy. Lamar ought TO be good for ten |.
years He 10 in good health has the stomach Of
an ostrich and his hair IS still free from gray.